Tears of Love
by missy52061
Summary: Kate is alone with their crying baby. For a #CastleFanficMonday. And it's also filling one of the great prompts in the Castlefanfics Prompt Challenge, specifically: Future fic - "Please stop crying" As always, I don't own Castle, I just wish I did.
Kate loved being a mother to newborn James Richard Castle. He was such a happy baby, waking up with a gummy smile each time. (Well, everyone told her it really wasn't a smile, but she knew her baby boy, and it was indeed a smile.) She loved feeding him, diapering him, singing to him, bathing him, she just plain loved him. And having Rick by her side, telling her what a great mom she was, made it even better. Her heart was full of love for her little guy and yes, her big guy too.

So when Castle got a call from Gina asking for a last minute meeting, Kate told him to go and to not worry. She and James would be fine; in fact, knowing their son, he'd probably sleep most of the time away, and she could sit back and relax. Rick grinned at her and said, "Be ready for anything, sweetheart. Babies do what they please, Kate!"

"Not our baby, Castle. He's perfect!" Nothing he said could change her mind. So he just kissed her cheek, kissed the crown of Jamie's head, and walked out of the loft. Kate looked down at her sleeping baby, and slowly got up. She'd put him in his bassinet, and make herself some toast. Maybe she'd even read the paper while he slept. She started walking toward the bassinet, and as soon as she started to put him down, James started to cry. She rocked him a little – maybe she had moved a little too quickly, she was still learning that move – but he would not be soothed. She rocked him some more, and he still cried. She put him down on the changing table and checked his diaper – dry. Maybe he was hungry, but he refused her breast, turning his head to the side and crying some more.

Kate thought back to that night with Bennie, and all the baby books she had read while she was pregnant. What did they say to do with a baby that won't stop crying? What had they done with Bennie? Kate remembered getting the exercise ball and that working for a minute, so she decided to try that. Jamie was crying as she walked over to it, and as she sat on it. She bounced up and down a few times, but he didn't stop. So she decided to walk around with him a bit.

"Oh, James sweetheart, please stop crying. Please! You're breaking my heart," Kate was trying not to cry herself as nothing she did soothed her son. She had walked all around the loft. She'd sat down with him and rubbed his back. She had rocked him back and forth. She tried putting him down. She'd changed his diaper, and offered him her breast again. Nothing worked, he had continued to cry, and in fact, it seemed that he was crying even harder.

"Baby, please stop crying. I know I'm not as good at this as Daddy is. He's so great at being a daddy. Watching him with your big sister is one of the first things I loved about him, did you know that? And watching him with you is amazing. He's never too tired for you. But I get so tired, and I'm so new at this. I'm sorry I'm not that good at this. If he was here, he'd figure this out. He'd do something and you'd be okay," It slowly dawned on her that James' tears were slowly down as she talked to him. He almost seemed to be listening to her. So she kept talking.

"I can't wait to take you to a baseball game. I've managed to get Daddy to root for the Mets – he finally realized the error of his ways – and we'll take you to Citi Field. Grandpa Jim will come too. He loves baseball too. In fact, he made me a baseball fan when I was little. Gram doesn't like baseball, but she loves so many other things. Maybe she'll take you to Broadway shows or to the movies. And I'll bet she sing to you when you're sad. And your big sister Alexis will take you on adventures. She's already a great big sister – she loves you so much – and I have a feeling the two of you will do all sorts of crazy stuff together. She'll teach you about laser tag and how to beat Daddy. And she knows exactly how to drive Daddy nuts," Kate found herself talking about everything. And then she decided to sing to him. She found herself singing Irving Berlin's "Always", and rocking him a little as she sang.

" _Days may not be fair – always_

 _That's when I'll be there – always_

 _Not just for an hour_

 _Not just for a day_

 _Not just for a year_

 _But always."_

As she sang the final note, she looked up and saw Rick standing there. And when she looked down at their son, he wasn't crying anymore. He was her happy little man, and his eyes were closing. She kissed his cheeks and the top of his head and slowly lowered him to his bassinet. By this time, Rick was by her side and they stood there for a minute and watched him sleep. She took him by the hand, and they walked out of the room.

"So how long were you standing there?" she asked him.

"Not long. About the time you started singing. So things went well?"

"Not totally. He cried a bit, but then I realized he's half Castle and he needs a story – either to tell or hear, so I started talking. He liked it!" She laughed at his raised eyebrows, and then smiled as he took her in his arms. As he leaned in to kiss her, she smiled and said, "Time for mommy and daddy to take a nap, too!"

Castle grinned and replied, "Naps are good. I like naps," but just as they were about to fall into bed, a little cry came from the bassinet. They looked at each other and laughed. Mommy and daddy nap time would have to wait.


End file.
